Anyone Else think this is Odd?

My son is in 4th grade - he's a pretty good student, though he could stand a
little more concentrated effort - on the other hand, he had 4 low grades the
first report card, and raised each of them 2 grade levels by the second report
card..... mom was proud :-)

I heard from my son, and a friend of his, that their teacher has told the
friend's parents that he appears to be ADHD (the friend, not my son), and should
be on meds for 4 weeks to see if it helps.

This is a teacher who is young (26 or so), and this is her 4th year teaching -
last year she had 9th grade. Personally, I don't think she knows how to handle
9 and 10 year old little boys.........

Anyone else find it odd that this relatively inexperienced teacher who hasn't
gone to med school is now diagnosing ADHD and recommending meds? I've seen the
child in question, and he and my son can play YuGiOh for hours......... and
while I'm not a doctor either, I don't see anything that raises cause for
alarm........

Thoughts?

Moon Shyne wrote in message
...
My son is in 4th grade - he's a pretty good student, though he could stand
a
little more concentrated effort - on the other hand, he had 4 low grades
the
first report card, and raised each of them 2 grade levels by the second
report
card..... mom was proud :-)

I heard from my son, and a friend of his, that their teacher has told the
friend's parents that he appears to be ADHD (the friend, not my son), and
should
be on meds for 4 weeks to see if it helps.

This is a teacher who is young (26 or so), and this is her 4th year
teaching -
last year she had 9th grade. Personally, I don't think she knows how to
handle
9 and 10 year old little boys.........

Anyone else find it odd that this relatively inexperienced teacher who
hasn't
gone to med school is now diagnosing ADHD and recommending meds? I've
seen the
child in question, and he and my son can play YuGiOh for hours.........
and
while I'm not a doctor either, I don't see anything that raises cause for
alarm........

Thoughts?



Article in Psychology Today states that teachers are most likely to be the
first to suggest a diagnoses of ADHD (researcher surveyed the DC area) It
was 47% teachers, 30% parents, 11% primary care physicians, 6% school
personnel other then teachers, 3% child psychiatrists.

Apparently not odd but I think some teachers are going out of their scope of
expertise.

T

Anyone Else think this is Odd?

Group: alt.support.single-parents Date: Tue, Feb 24, 2004, 5:26am
(EST-1) From: (Moon=A0Shyne)

My son is in 4th grade - he's a pretty good student, though he could
stand a little more concentrated effort - on the other hand, he had 4
low grades the first report card, and raised each of them 2 grade levels
by the second report card..... mom was proud :-)

Good for you both ! It is great isn't it !

I heard from my son, and a friend of his, that their teacher has told
the friend's parents that he appears to be ADHD (the friend, not my
son), and should be on meds for 4 weeks to see if it helps.

This reminds me ......when my daughter was found to be having
difficulty in school, a psychiatrist we saw thought ADHD and suggested
we try meds for it .My daughter was 12 years old. He said "It's the
easiest way to diagnose it, because if the child improves on the med the
child has it and if not he/she doesn't". So that's the practice of
medicine for ya? My daughter was not on the meds long.........so that is
how they ruled out ADHD .


This is a teacher who is young (26 or so), and this is her 4th year
teaching - last year she had 9th grade. Personally, I don't think she
knows how to handle 9 and 10 year old little boys.........

You could be right ,I see teachers working with learning disabled as
well that absolutely should not !


Anyone else find it odd that this relatively inexperienced teacher who
hasn't gone to med school is now diagnosing ADHD and recommending meds?

Nope they do it all the time. It is all a big guessing game, it is hell
for the kids and for the parents . Bev

Tiffany is correct, teachers are the first ones to suggest. However, if your having doubts there is a test that can be administered by your doctor. It's a questionaire that you fill out and the teacher fills out, then the doctor evaluates the child. I know, I've been thru it. And unfortuantly my kid is ADHD. The meds help. I didn't want to, but I realized that I had to do what was in his best interest. And sadly, just because they can play Yi-Gi-Oh for hours doesn't mean anything. Mine would play Hot wheels hour after hour. What they want to know is how well he stays on task during homework, or doing something that's not 'fun'. The ability to focus on work. You have the right to question the teacher, go and observe if you can. Or request that the school physc. observe. If your insurance allows it have him evaluated by a professional. Just don't say anything to the teacher about what your doing. And if he has to go on meds, again do not tell the teacher. Wait and see if she notices anything first. It could just be her if after you've eliminated the possiblities. I have met some teachers that just 'don't want to deal with it'. Get an outside objective if possible. All I'm saying is, eliminate any doubts before lashing out at some 26 year-old. Good Luck

hdbabe wrote in message
lkaboutsupport.com...
snip
And sadly, just because they can play Yi-Gi-Oh for hours doesn't mean
anything. Mine would play Hot wheels hour after hour. What they want to know
is how well he stays on task during homework, or doing something that's not
'fun'. The ability to focus on work. You have the right to question the
teacher, go and observe if you can. Or request that the school physc.
observe.

I'll agree with the above, but, also, is the child being challenged enough
in class? Boredom in class could also cause lack of interest, which could
possibly come across as the unability to focus on the tasks at hand that
really are not that fun for a grade four boy.

Lost my train of thought. Think I said enough for now.

snip again

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 05:26:17 -0600, "Moon Shyne"
wrote:

My son is in 4th grade - he's a pretty good student, though he could stand a
little more concentrated effort - on the other hand, he had 4 low grades the
first report card, and raised each of them 2 grade levels by the second report
card..... mom was proud :-)

I heard from my son, and a friend of his, that their teacher has told the
friend's parents that he appears to be ADHD (the friend, not my son), and should
be on meds for 4 weeks to see if it helps.

This is a teacher who is young (26 or so), and this is her 4th year teaching -
last year she had 9th grade. Personally, I don't think she knows how to handle
9 and 10 year old little boys.........

Anyone else find it odd that this relatively inexperienced teacher who hasn't
gone to med school is now diagnosing ADHD and recommending meds? I've seen the
child in question, and he and my son can play YuGiOh for hours......... and
while I'm not a doctor either, I don't see anything that raises cause for
alarm........

Thoughts?

Teachers don't diagnose. If a teacher suspects ADHD the appropriate
response to that, is to alert the parents to the concern and suggest
that the child be seen by a doctor, and possibly request the parent's
signature in order to have a school psychologist do an evaluation.
Teachers *do not* diagnose ADHD and *do not* prescribe meds. Teachers
often flag a child for investigation if they think that child is
showing atypical behaviour of some sort, which they *are* qualified to
do. But the investigation for a medical condition is the department of
doctors, and for a psychological condition, of psychologists.

That said, clearly the teacher sees atypical behaviour in this child
that she thinks warrants investigation. If she actually said the kid
should try meds, she was overstepping. If she suggested a check by a
doctor to see whether ADHD is present, and mentioned that meds are
sometimes used on a trial basis as part of the diagnosis, that's
something else. What she sees that she finds cause for concern is
unknown at this point, but there are lots of different things kids do
that sometimes warrant investigation. A good teacher *should* draw
parents' attention to concerns if they are significant, but obviously
the more experienced the teacher, the more likely it is that her
judgement will be accurate. It's certainly not uncommon for little
boys to be suspected of having ADHD when what they've got is a bad
case of little boy. Sometimes, too, children who are in very good
control of themselves but choose not to excercise control in the way
the teacher would like, are also suspected of having ADHD. All of
these are things that a qualified psychologist together with a
paediatrician can determine, which is why a teacher generally should
refer onward.

HTH.

Cele

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 09:45:03 -0600, "hdbabe"
wrote:

Tiffany is correct, teachers are the first ones to suggest.

And that's okay, because 'suggesting' is different from 'diagnosing'.
:-) Teachers see a lot of kids, so it's not surprising that they're
the first to notice when one kid is atypical in some way.

However, if your having doubts there is a test that can be administered by your doctor. It's a questionaire that you fill out and the teacher fills out, then the doctor evaluates the child.

That's one of several diagnostic instruments used. You've gotta love
the one where the kid has to listen for ages to a series of single
words and stick their thumb up only when they hear 'dog' or whatever.
Boy, if they can handle THAT well, they sure don't have ADHD! LOL

I know, I've been thru it. And unfortuantly my kid is ADHD. The meds help.

Sorry to hear it. The meds tend only to help kids with true ADHD.
They're stimulants, usually, and have the opposite effect on these
kids to the one they have on everyone else. That's why sometimes the
response to medication is part of the diagnostic process. Hence the
'trial' of meds.

I didn't want to, but I realized that I had to do what was in his best interest. And sadly, just because they can play Yi-Gi-Oh for hours doesn't mean anything. Mine would play Hot wheels hour after hour. What they want to know is how well he stays on task during homework, or doing something that's not 'fun'. The ability to focus on work. You have the right to question the teacher, go and observe if you can. Or request that the school physc. observe. If your insurance allows it have him evaluated by a professional. Just don't say anything to the teacher about what your doing. And if he has to go on meds, again do not tell the teacher. Wait and see if she notices
anything first. It could just be her if after you've eliminated the possiblities. I have met some teachers that just 'don't want to deal with it'. Get an outside objective if possible. All I'm saying is, eliminate any doubts before lashing out at some 26 year-old. Good Luck

I don't think it was MoonShyne's child, it was her child's friend,
wasn't it?

Cele

"Moon Shyne" wrote in message
...
My son is in 4th grade - he's a pretty good student, though he could stand a
little more concentrated effort - on the other hand, he had 4 low grades the
first report card, and raised each of them 2 grade levels by the second
report
card..... mom was proud :-)

I heard from my son, and a friend of his, that their teacher has told the
friend's parents that he appears to be ADHD (the friend, not my son), and
should
be on meds for 4 weeks to see if it helps.

This is a teacher who is young (26 or so), and this is her 4th year
teaching -
last year she had 9th grade. Personally, I don't think she knows how to
handle
9 and 10 year old little boys.........

Anyone else find it odd that this relatively inexperienced teacher who
hasn't
gone to med school is now diagnosing ADHD and recommending meds? I've seen
the
child in question, and he and my son can play YuGiOh for hours......... and
while I'm not a doctor either, I don't see anything that raises cause for
alarm........

Thoughts?



Teachers spend much time with our children. I might not have noticed John's
behavior if his second grade teacher did not point it out to be that it was
becoming abnormal.
She put it in a snotty way, but she was a young freshly graduated girl. In the
end, she helped a lot.
Good luck Moon,
V

"hdbabe" wrote in message
lkaboutsupport.com...
Tiffany is correct, teachers are the first ones to suggest. However, if your
having doubts there is a test that can be administered by your doctor. It's a
questionaire that you fill out and the teacher fills out, then the doctor
evaluates the child. I know, I've been thru it. And unfortuantly my kid is ADHD.
The meds help. I didn't want to, but I realized that I had to do what was in his
best interest. And sadly, just because they can play Yi-Gi-Oh for hours doesn't
mean anything. Mine would play Hot wheels hour after hour. What they want to
know is how well he stays on task during homework, or doing something that's not
'fun'. The ability to focus on work. You have the right to question the teacher,
go and observe if you can. Or request that the school physc. observe. If your
insurance allows it have him evaluated by a professional. Just don't say
anything to the teacher about what your doing. And if he has to go on meds,
again do not tell the teacher. Wait and see if she notices anything first. It
could just be her if after you've eliminated the possiblities. I have met some
teachers that just 'don't want to deal with it'. Get an outside objective if
possible. All I'm saying is, eliminate any doubts before lashing out at some 26
year-old. Good Luck

You misunderstood - it's not my son that the teacher is 'diagnosing' - it's
another child. Thanks for the feedback though.

"Cele" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 09:45:03 -0600, "hdbabe"
wrote:

Tiffany is correct, teachers are the first ones to suggest.

And that's okay, because 'suggesting' is different from 'diagnosing'.
:-) Teachers see a lot of kids, so it's not surprising that they're
the first to notice when one kid is atypical in some way.

However, if your having doubts there is a test that can be administered by
your doctor. It's a questionaire that you fill out and the teacher fills out,
then the doctor evaluates the child.

That's one of several diagnostic instruments used. You've gotta love
the one where the kid has to listen for ages to a series of single
words and stick their thumb up only when they hear 'dog' or whatever.
Boy, if they can handle THAT well, they sure don't have ADHD! LOL

I know, I've been thru it. And unfortuantly my kid is ADHD. The meds help.

Sorry to hear it. The meds tend only to help kids with true ADHD.
They're stimulants, usually, and have the opposite effect on these
kids to the one they have on everyone else. That's why sometimes the
response to medication is part of the diagnostic process. Hence the
'trial' of meds.

I didn't want to, but I realized that I had to do what was in his best
interest. And sadly, just because they can play Yi-Gi-Oh for hours doesn't mean
anything. Mine would play Hot wheels hour after hour. What they want to know is
how well he stays on task during homework, or doing something that's not 'fun'.
The ability to focus on work. You have the right to question the teacher, go and
observe if you can. Or request that the school physc. observe. If your insurance
allows it have him evaluated by a professional. Just don't say anything to the
teacher about what your doing. And if he has to go on meds, again do not tell
the teacher. Wait and see if she notices
anything first. It could just be her if after you've eliminated the
possiblities. I have met some teachers that just 'don't want to deal with it'.
Get an outside objective if possible. All I'm saying is, eliminate any doubts
before lashing out at some 26 year-old. Good Luck

I don't think it was MoonShyne's child, it was her child's friend,
wasn't it?

Yup



Cele